Helmets for contact sports, such as those used in football, hockey and lacrosse, typically include a shell, an internal padding assembly, a faceguard or face mask, and a chin protector or strap that removably secures the helmet on the wearer's head. The faceguard is rigidly secured to the shell by a plurality of connectors, whereby the faceguard can sustain a number of impacts during the course of play while remaining connected to the shell. Most faceguards include a plurality of intersecting and/or overlapping bars that form openings through which the wearer views the field of play. With conventional helmets, the upper faceguard bars directly contact the lower frontal portion of the helmet shell, which is referred to as the “brow region” of the shell. This direct contact results from the use of a pair of connectors secured to the brow region of the helmet shell. Additional connectors are employed to secure the faceguard to the side portions of the helmet shell. Conventional faceguard connectors are purposely designed to avoid flexing when the faceguard receives an impact force.
One existing faceguard connector is a plastic U-shaped strap member that has a receiver portion that encircles a bar of the faceguard. This strap connector includes a tab portion, wherein a threaded fastener, such as a screw, extends through the tab portion and into the shell to secure the connector and the faceguard to the helmet. Typically, these U-shaped strap connectors are found above the brow region of the shell and along each ear flap to join the faceguard to the shell. A second existing faceguard connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,934,971, which is owned by Riddell Inc., the assignee of the present application. That connector, marketed under the Isolator System brand name, includes a nut, a bushing, a grommet, a rectangular bracket and a threaded fastener (screw). The bracket includes a first channel that receives a first bar of the faceguard and a second channel that receives a second bar, wherein the faceguard bars are positioned between the shell and the bracket. The fastener extends through the bracket and the shell and is received by the nut (residing within the shell) to couple the faceguard to the shell. The threaded fastener is employed to secure the connector to the shell and as a result, a rotational force is applied to tighten for securement and loosen the fastener to permit removal of the bracket and faceguard. While such conventional faceguard connectors provide a number of benefits, they nevertheless have certain limitations. For example, adjusting and/or removing the faceguard from the shell can be difficult and time consuming. Because a threaded fastener is utilized, rotation of a flat-blade or Phillips screwdriver is required to loosen the fastener to allow for removal of the bracket and the faceguard. Removal of a faceguard becomes necessary when the player is injured or the player's faceguard is damaged and involves unscrewing the fastener to allow for removal of both the connector and the damaged faceguard. After the damaged faceguard is removed, a replacement faceguard is secured to the helmet with the fastener and connector. This removal and replacement process is time consuming and requires that the player having the damaged equipment to be removed from play until the process is completed. The unavailability of the player to participate in further play is detrimental to the team, especially if the player plays an essential position such as quarterback.
One additional limitation of the use of a faceguard connector above the brow region of the shell is the transmission of faceguard impact forces. Because the faceguard is in direct contact with the shell, a significant extent of a faceguard impact force is transmitted from the faceguard to the shell. Depending upon its severity and magnitude, an extent of the impact force may be transmitted through the internal padding assembly to the wearer of the helmet.
The present invention is provided to solve these limitations and to provide advantages and aspects not provided by conventional sports helmets. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present invention is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.